On February 4th, Charlottesville, Virginia, became the first U.S. city to pass a resolution against drones.

The resolution resolves that the city: "endorses the proposal for a two year moratorium on drones in the state of Virginia; and calls on the United States Congress and the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia to adopt legislation prohibiting information obtained from the domestic use of drones from being introduced into a Federal or State court, and precluding the domestic use of drones equipped with anti-personnel devices, meaning any projectile, chemical, electrical, directed-energy (visible or invisible), or other device designed to harm, incapacitate, or otherwise negatively impact a human being; and pledges to abstain from similar uses with city-owned, leased, or borrowed drones."

The following piece was written on February 9th by Dr Hakim (Dr Teck Young, Wee, on right in picture, with Raz and Abdulhai), a colleague of WNPJ member group Voices for Creative Nonviolence, who mentors the Kabul-based Afghan Peace Volunteers.

It’s hard for me, an ordinary citizen of Singapore, a medical doctor engaged in social enterprise work in Afghanistan and a human being wishing for a better world, to write this from Kabul.
But people are dying.
And children and women are feeling hopeless.
“What’s the point in telling you our stories?” asked Freba, one of the seamstresses working with the Afghan Peace Volunteers to set up a tailoring co-operative for Afghan women. “Does anyone hear? Does anyone believe us?”
Silently within, I answered Freba with shame,” You’re right. No one is listening.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Phil Runkel, Milwaukee, and Joy First, Mt. Horeb, are joining other activists from across the country in an action of nonviolent civil resistance in Washington, DC on Monday. The action is being organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) during the inauguration, calling attention to the hypocrisy of President Obama taking an oath to uphold the constitution while he continues to ignore its most basic principles through his extra-judicial killing of innocent children, women, and men, including US citizens, through drone warfare.

Passed by the Raleigh, NC City Council on January 15, 2013 with a vote of 5 to 3:

Proclamation calling on Congress to Fund Urgently Needed Services and Infrastructure Repair in Raleigh and Throughout the United States by Bringing Our Troops and War Dollars Home and Reducing Military Spending

WHEREAS the members of the Raleigh City Council and the constituents we represent want to ensure the safety, as well as the physical and mental well-being of U.S. soldiers, veterans, and their families, and

Learn more about U.S. killer drones on Monday evenings from Jan 28 to Feb 18 (6:30 - 8:30 pm) at Many Ways of Peace, 217 S. Main St. in downtown Eagle River. All welcome! The first talk is by Pat Chaffee, a Catholic sister from Racine who recently visited Pakistan with a Code Pink delegation to hear how drone warfare impacts communities there.

On January 10, the Dane County Board passed a "Bring Our War Dollars Home" (BOW$H) resolution introduced by Supervisor Kyle Richmond and drafted with help from WNPJ, on a vote of 26 supporting, 5 opposing and 5 absent or abstaining. The resolution urges the President and Congress to redirect resources from the excessive U.S. military budget, to fund housing, jobs, veterans, infrastructure, debt reduction and environmental programs, and encourages other local governments to pass similar resolutions.